Sky Tonight—February 11, Waxing gibbous moon near Pleiades
The waxing gibbous moon shines close to the Pleiades star cluster tonight.
Sky Tonight—February 10, Somber red Betelgeuse shines in the shoulder of Orion
At nightfall and early evening, people at mid-northern latitudes see the famous Belt of Orion
Sky Tonight—February 9, Shedding light on the moon’s dark side
The moon’s disk is nearly 40% illuminated by sunshine and 60% engulfed in its own shadow.
Sky Tonight—February 8, Use Big Dipper’s Pointers to find Polaris
A well-known trick for finding the North Star, or Polaris, is that the two outermost stars in the bowl of the Big Dipper point to Polaris
Sky Tonight—February 5, Moon closer to Jupiter
Jupiter has over 60 known moons of its own
Sky Tonight—February 3, Double Cluster of Perseus in northwest
These two open star clusters reside an estimated 7,400 light years away. Each contains 300 to 400 stars.
Sky Tonight—February 2, Cassiopeia is shaped like an ‘M’ or ‘W’
A more modern February myth: Groundhog Day.
Sky Tonight—February 1, For those at southerly latitudes, Canopus!
It is Canopus, and it is the second-brightest star in the entire sky.
Sky Tonight—January 31, Star-hop from Great Square of Pegasus to Andromeda galaxy
On a dark night, the Andromeda galaxy looks like a faint, blurry patch of light.
Sky Tonight—January 30, Jupiter and Great Square of Pegasus in west after sunset
upiter reigns supreme in the evening sky by default.